On 17–18 February 2026, the University of Liverpool’s Materials Innovation Factory buzzed with creativity and curiosity as researchers, and students gathered for The Inator Hackathon: Raspberry Pi’s and Remote Sensing for Machine Learning.
This two-day, hands-on event gave participants the opportunity to dive into microcontrollers, environmental sensing, and practical machine learning workflows using Raspberry Pis. Over the course of the hackathon, attendees:
- Built simple remote sensors with Raspberry Pi modules
- Collected and structured real-world datasets
- Cleaned and prepared data with Python
- Applied introductory machine learning techniques to extract meaningful insights from their data.
The event was expertly led by Dr Mike Parkes from UCL and Dr Joe Forth from the University of Liverpool, who guided participants through workshops, brainstorming sessions, and the hackathon challenge itself, rounded out by group presentations on day two.
Adding extra inspiration to the weekend, a team from Red Bull Basement shared insights into their global innovation programme. Designed to support young innovators using AI and technology, Red Bull Basement helps participants refine ideas, build prototypes, and compete on international stages, with opportunities for mentorship, tools, cloud credits, and even invitations to pitch ideas in Silicon Valley. Their talk sparked plenty of interest among hackathon attendees looking to take their own projects beyond the event and into broader innovation arenas.
With much of machine learning success relying on well-curated data, this hackathon emphasised foundational skills that help bridge the gap between raw sensor outputs and AI-ready datasets, a vital step toward trustworthy, impactful research and real-world applications. Take a look at joining this Hackathon in University of Strathclyde on 18th March 2026!
We look forward to seeing you at our next event!
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